Common bond for challengers for Cornell Village positions

Saturday

Apr 6, 2013 at 1:27 PMApr 6, 2013 at 1:28 PM

Cynthia Grau

With all seats up for grabs, the village of Cornell has a key race for village president and trustees taking place Tuesday. Linking the races is a common cause — get rid of the current village president. Village president Mark Wayman faces challenges from trustee Steve Rapp, who is on the ballot, as well as trustee Phil Cool, who is running as a write-in. There are six trustee positions available but only three people running. Terry Freese and Kenlyn Johnson are contending for four-year terms and Debbie Belter is trying for an unexpired two-year term. Rapp said that he became interested in running for village president after he noticed things that needed to be done in the village but hadn’t been addressed. “I think we’re not as organized as we should and I think we need to have plans for both the immediate future and the distant future, too,” Rapp said in an interview with the Daily Leader. “I don’t think that’s being done and I think there are a lot of things in town that are not getting done and I think I can help get them done.” If elected, Rapp plans to reorganize the committees as he says they seem to have fallen in disuse. He also said that he plans to make upgrades around the community to give it a better look, as well as wanting to get more public involvement in the decisions of the council. “I’ve taught in various positions for 37 years. The last several, I’ve been subbing,” he said of his experience that will help him lead the village. “I’ve been in charge of my church council and for the last few years, I’ve been a trustee on the village board.” Rapp says he is willing to listen and consider everyone’s opinion. “That doesn’t mean I will agree with them or go along with them, but I’m willing to listen because, frankly, I don’t know all the answers and I’m willing to listen to the smart people of our village and consider all options from all points of view,” he said. Cool, who is running as a write-in candidate for village president, said his choice to run for the position came from what he considers a lack of leadership the village has been dealing with. “I truly think that it needs to be changed. I’m all for saving money and not spending it at this point in time,” he said. Cool is interested in streamlining the village spending. A big project that’s been in the works for some time is a proposed sewer system, which he says will not work. “Drop the sewer business because we’re not going to get it. I’ve done a lot of research on that and there’s no way,” he said. “I think what we need to do is forget about the sewer right now and upgrade some of the streets that need it and take care of some of the drainage problems that we have. I think we need to get some businesses in here. I just want to spend the taxpayers’ money in a sensible way.” Cool, who has served as a trustee for two years, says that his veteran status and past experience will help him lead the people of Cornell. “I’m a member of the American Legion, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I go to meetings and I know the Parliamentary Procedure,” Cool said. “My experiences are all the hard knocks I had,” he said. “I just want to help the people. I’m not a politician. I’m not out here for myself. I’m out here for the people.” Attempts by The Leader to reach incumbent Village President Wayman were not answered. Freese, one of three individuals running for the six vacant trustee seats, said that he is running for re-election because of his experience and the fact that he loves his community and would like to see it continue to improve. “For starters,” he said, “ I would like to apply for (or see about getting) grants to fix our storm sewers in town, so that the rain water can get away faster. Some of them are plugged or too small to handle the runoff.” Freese, who has been a trustee for 12 years, is looking to add four more after this election. Belter has made her intent known to the people in Cornell that she is running as a write-in candidate for the two-year unexpired term of trustee. Belter, a longtime Cornell resident, feels similarly to Cool as to why she became interested in becoming a village trustee. “Truthfully, we tried to get other people in town to run and nobody wanted the job because nobody wanted to deal with the (village president) we have now and they said until he gets out of office, they wouldn’t even consider doing anything,” she said. “In the last four years, nothing has gotten done. You can voice your opinion while sitting in the audience, but until you’re sitting at the table, they just look at you and say, ‘OK, fine,’ and pass you by. I just decided that if I’m sitting at the table, my voice will be heard a little better.” Belter said that she really would like to see something done with the town. She said she’d like to see it taken care of and be in better shape than it is right now. “It’s a good town and the people here are good people,” she said. What Belter said makes her a good candidate is that she will take concerns to the other trustees so that the residents’ voices can be heard. “I do speak up,” she said. “I will take things to the table that people have concerns with and I will stand my ground. “Right now, that is something we don’t have a lot of,” she added. “I have sat long enough listening to all the concerns people have and I’m hoping when I get to the table, I’ll be one that will speak up, that will make sure their concerns are heard and hopefully dealt with.” Like the village president, Johnson, who is also running for a four-year term for trustee, did not return calls for comments from The Leader.